Change is inevitable; we have all heard it before – but many of us seldom do anything about it. I had the opportunity to hear Josh Linkner speak last week at the Small Business Association of Michigan (SBAM) Leadership Council Summit and it was a great reminder that business owners need to focus on reinvention to remain relevant.

Josh wrote the bestselling book, The Road to Reinvention which discusses how businesses fail to reinvent with disastrous results. I started 8THIRTYFOUR to introduce an alternative to the traditional agency model. We focus on deliverables, not hours. We strategize, then implement. We leverage all communication mediums to deliver integrated measured results. At the time, the concept was unique and hard for people to wrap their heads around, in fact it took years building relationships and delivering results before it paid off.

Imagine if your competitors had the same exact product as you and all of you delivered it the same way – how would you stand out? What makes you different?

If we, as business owners, don’t take a different approach and innovate, then how do you ensure your business will be there tomorrow or 3 years from now?

Josh used the example of Kmart and their Ship My Pants campaign. Kmart was struggling to stand out from competition and remain relevant when competing with the likes of Amazon and other online giants. The campaign did exactly what it was designed to do, create buzz. Kmart had a HUGE opportunity, to build on the momentum and improve the online user experience, customer service and more. They didn’t. Change was too hard and they held onto their antiquated retail model…and well the rest is history (no really – they are history).

Dedicate time and resources to big picture ideas and don’t be afraid to take a risk – it could pay off in dividends.